A No Spend Weekend with Scottish Friendly

Money has been tight lately, as a single income family with four kids there never seems to be quite enough! So when Scottish Friendly asked us to take part in their ‘No Spend Weekend’ challenge, it sounded perfect for us.

To be fair – our weekends aren’t usually hugely expensive, as money is so tight. Still, it’s easy to spend a lot very quickly when there are five of us – even a trip to the cinema isn’t a ‘cheap’ option. When the girls were little, our weekends were always full of no-cost activities as we had so little money. Yet looking back, they were some of the most fun things we did and we all have fond memories of them.

We decided to keep our weekend close to home and simple – focusing on quality family time and making memories. The big problem I have at the moment is that as I don’t drive, getting anywhere is really expensive on public transport – so the cost of days out quickly escalates.

Saturday

Saturday morning we woke to blue skies {thankfully!}. We’d planned a walk to Erddig about two miles from home. I got Baya and Beastie busy first thing making some snacks to take with us – they made pizza cheese straws to sustain them on their walk as well as some flapjacks.

By mid-morning the four of us were ready to go – Lola had a {free!} art group all day, so it was just the younger ones with me. It takes us about half an hour to walk there. Beastie was excited to spot the sheep as well as all the dogs out for their morning walk as we arrived. The grounds of Erddig are free, it’s a place we spend a lot of time, especially in the summer, as there is a river running through and woods to play in. It was a bit too chilly to paddle our toes today, but we had a fun game of pooh sticks, found some stones to try and skim across the water and the kids had fun playing ‘hot chocolate’ {a game Lola invented when she was little, that seems to consist of jumping on mounds of mud shouting ‘HOT CHOCOLATE’ really loudly ha!}

After an hour or so by the river, we walked up to the house, which is a National Trust Property, so technically not free but we have membership and go so much, that each visit works out at maybe £5 for all of us. We met up with friends there too, the kids spent a few happy hours playing the Wolf’s Den {a natural, outdoor playground}, we had a picnic, saw the horses and donkey’s and checked out the apple display.

Our friends came back with us after our day out and stayed over on Saturday night. We made pizza dough so everyone could make their own pizza, the kids all played, we watched X Factor and had a really fun evening – actually one of the best in a really long time.

Sunday

After a late one the night before, none of us were up and on very early or feeling like doing too much. Our friends headed off mid-morning and the little three went out with their dad for a couple of hours. Lola and I caught up on a few shows together while they were out. We decided that Sunday was the perfect day for a lazy, at home day – an easy way to avoid spending any money!

When they came back in the afternoon we had a quick walk to the skate park as I needed a stretch of my legs and some fresh air. Then we came home, baked some cookies, played a few board games and read a few books. Sundays we always have a ‘picky dinner’ – a buffet in the living room {the only time we eat on the sofa’s!} and watch a show or two. It’s a great way to have some family time, I love having a show we all watch together as I think it really gives us some special time that we can all join in on – great if you have a spread of ages like I have.

We finished off our weekend with a couple of hours around the firepit.

How did we do?

I have to say, I really enjoyed our weekend! It wasn’t a million miles from a typical weekend for us, but it reminded me how easy it is to have fun without spending money. It might take a little more organising – such as packing a picnic rather than buying lunch out, but it’s worth it. The kids all had a great time, and I think they loved having a slow day at home when we had time to play loads of games and just chat about silly stuff. It’s those little moments that are the most important to kids.

We’ll certainly be planning in more ‘no spend weekends’ from now on!